Little Writings

Claire, To Liam

A small girl waddled out of one of the rooms, a smile widening on her face when she saw Aaron. "Play! Play!"

"Oh, this is Megan," Karen smiled, slinging an arm around Liam. "Our daughter. Do you want me to take the kids outside? She's only three, but.."

Claire clearly hesitated, looping her fingers through her other hand. "Of course," she finally said, "I don't mind at all." Karen didn't seem to miss that holdback, but nodded sweetly and ushered both children to the backyard. It's fine, Claire told herself, this is Charlie's brother. I can trust him.

She didn't wait to sit down, making herself comfortable in the chair and watching Liam carefully as he sat down. He didn't look grief-stricken, or anything of the sort, so Claire wondered if he had any idea his brother was dead. She wasn't completely familiar with the news coverage when the Oceanic Six had made their way back home, but knew Charlie hadn't been mentioned. That being said, Liam could easily be harboring feelings of false hope. That just made her even sadder, to the point where she felt numb inside.

"So - Charlie." Liam laughed awkwardly and leaned forward, pursing his lips. "Look, I don't know how you knew each other, and I'd love to hear everything, but please, just tell me how to find him, how can I find my baby brother again—"

"You can't." Claire's voice wasn't necessarily cold, just honest and matter-of-fact. "I'm sorry, Liam. He died a long time ago."

Liam's face paled and his hands began to tremble. "Dead? No, no... my brother was a fighter, he's not dead, he can't.. he.." A soft sob choked out of his lips and tears welled in his eyes. "Please, tell me you're lying, he can't be dead, not my baby brother.."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, voice hoarse and scratchy against the back of her throat. "I wasn't sure if you knew or not, but..." She trailed off.

"No, I didn't," he whispered, eyes screwing shut. "I had no idea. I thought he was alive, stuck on that god-forsaken island the Oceanic Six had come from. I didn't — I didn't even know more of you had returned, I'd just heard about the same group mysteriously disappearing again, and, and I figured that, maybe, just maybe, my brother was still alive. But... I.. I guess I was wrong.."

"Not many know we're back yet. There's been little news coverage, and I haven't had enough time to make an official statement with the others.." She smiled softly at the memory of Sawyer and Kate, of how long they'd been friends. She briefly wondered if they were going to find some way to reconnect where they could actually live their lives. Claire knew Sawyer was still heartbroken over Juliet, and Kate over Jack, but maybe that was the best way to love each other.

A flicker of disappointment ran through Claire and she twitched her fingers, frowning. She missed Charlie so much, but the ache was a dull throb in the back of her head, and she could project that love onto the person she loved most in the world, Aaron. Damn Thomas. She really hoped he wouldn't reach out after their arrival became public, because that would be hell to deal with.

Realizing she'd spaced out for a few moments, Claire blinked and returned Liam's questioning and broken stare with a clear and sad one. "I'm going to write a book," she said suddenly. "It's going to be about everything that happened on the island, about all of the friendships I made, raising Aaron.. and Charlie. He was such an important influence on me and my son. He basically raised him alongside me."

Tears dripped from Liam's eyes. "He always wanted to be a father," he laughed, "maybe even more than I did." He twisted his head around, making sure his wife wasn't listening. "Megan, my daughter, you know, she was an accident. I didn't, I didn't think I could raise a child. But Charlie.. he always supported me. No matter what. Even when I was drugged out of my mind, he made sure he cared for me."